CosmicBills Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 7/30/05 There is nothing like the opening of Trainging camp -- especially when you score tickets inside the Wilmont Cancer Center tent (which means free grub and drinks). My trusted photographer and I braved our way through the breakfast buffet at 8am so we would have the nourishment needed to put together an excellent Training Camp report for all our out of town TBD brethren. I must say that the food was delicious. Aside from the eggs and french toast, there was a bit of football going on at Fisher. The first official practice of the year looked very much like a first practice. There were a few misques, a couple blown assignments, dropped balls and a bunch of offsides by the O-Line. A lot of the players looked as if they were still getting their legs under them -- either that or they were preoccupied with what they should wear to the upcoming parade. Our initial vantage point was in the endzone of the grass field which gave us a great view of the Defense going through their blitz packages. However, when the team shifted into positional drills, we found a great spot near the RBs and OL (the pictures linked have some great ones of Willis). We were also able to watch JP run through the skeleton drill. Finally, the Offense squared off against the D for a twenty minute session of 11 on 11. It is safe to say the Defense dominated this session. JP was sacked numerous times (well...would have been sacked, he was never touched -- thank you Troy Vincent), threw a couple of really bad balls that would have been picks (Clements dropped two that I saw). However, Willis and the running game looked great during this time. But, it's difficult to say how much that means since it wasn't full contact. Overall, the best unit of the day was the LBs and DL who both were flying to the ball. These units looked great in individual and team drills. The worst unit by far was the OL. Gandy and Geisinger both got beat repeadly by Shobel/Edwards and Geisinger was offsides three times. Here are the quick impressions: - I know everyone wants to know about JP. Well, I think he was a little nervous today. He threw some nice balls, but in the 11 on 11 he got lit up. 2 picks and at least 4 sacks (I stopped keeping track after that). On the plus side, he seems to have nice chemistry with Lee Evans (more so than Moulds). A couple of times when the protection broke down, he scrambled and found Evans for nice gains. I will keep an eye on JP (as everyone will) but I am hoping today he was just a bit nervous. - Let the controversy begin! Holcomb looked sharp and people in the stands were cheering louder for him than JP - I came away unimpressed with Gandy today. In one on one drills he got schooled by Schobel, Posey and even Oyi Osunde. He had slow feet and McNally was riding him. - Bennie Anderson is a monster. He is huge! And, he actually looked sharp in one on one pass blocking drills. - The right side of the OL looked good, even Mike Williams played well. - The backup lineman looked terrible. Geisinger was atrocious. The saving grace was Duke Preston who stood out -- but maybe that's because he was the only one pretending to be a revolving door or jumping off sides. - Shaud Williams took number 20 - Roscoe Parish made a couple of very nice catches. However, so did Reed. Both guys seem to be pushing eachother already. Reed looked faster and leaner than last year, and it is apparent he is ready to fight for his job. But Parish dazzled in the 7 on 7 drills...but when it came time for 11 on 11 he didn't make a catch (that I saw). - Lee, Shaud Williams and Gates all looked good. The battle for back up RB should be a good one. This is the unit we got closest to and they have a lot of good natured ribbing going on between them. You can tell the competition will be fierce. Out of those three, Lee impressed me the most today. But my money is still on Shaud Williams getting plenty of chances. - At the end of practice, Holcomb, Mike Williams and two other lineman (didn't see who) had to stay after and run sprints. McNally was the coach making them run, but I have no idea what for. TD was there watching, and on the last sprint, Mike Williams came up lame (see the picture). Looked like a cramp, but he walked gingerly off the field. I could have sworn I heard TD call him a P**sy though Pictures found here! http://community.webshots.com/album/408330859RFQyVv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 thanks for the update, but your webshots link doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
udonkey Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Album not found...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted July 30, 2005 Author Share Posted July 30, 2005 Fixed...thanks for the heads up! http://community.webshots.com/album/408330859RFQyVv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Great report - thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltrane34 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 link works now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Yeah, your second link works. Thanx for the report. No big surprises with the D dominating and JP struggling early. Not fond of the comment regarding Gandy's feet, though. See what you can do about that. Cya P.S. I read somewhere that Shaud WIllimas had bulked up a little bit to better withstand the NFL pounding. Did you notice if he looked any stouter and if so did it appear to cost him any of his quicks? I think he was a steal as an UDFA and have high hopes for him as a legitimate contributor to this team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Nice report, tgreg...thanks! Shaud Williams took number 20394099[/snapback] That didn't take long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HurlyBurly51 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 7/30/05 The worst unit by far was the OL. Gandy and Geisinger both got beat repeadly by Shobel/Edwards and Geisinger was offsides three times. - I came away unimpressed with Gandy today. In one on one drills he got schooled by Schobel, Posey and even Oyi Osunde. He had slow feet and McNally was riding him. 394099[/snapback] Ross, you back from Vegas yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Great report, thanks. Well, early returns say Preston should be starting at center and Teague should move out to LT. Oy. But it was just the first day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Great report, tgreg. Thanks. About all you can tell from a first practice is that you can't tell anything about a first practice. I would assume that the D will light up the O on most practices, and without any insider info, I would bet anything that one of the strategies in camp will be to throw everything the D can offer against JP to see how he reacts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted July 30, 2005 Author Share Posted July 30, 2005 P.S. I read somewhere that Shaud WIllimas had bulked up a little bit to better withstand the NFL pounding. Did you notice if he looked any stouter and if so did it appear to cost him any of his quicks?I think he was a steal as an UDFA and have high hopes for him as a legitimate contributor to this team. 394107[/snapback] Yes, I noticed it right away. He looks a lot bigger now (at least in the upper body). As you can see from the pics, we were real close to the RBs during their individual drills (less than 10 feet). I don't think Shaud has slowed at all. In fact, I pointed out to my brother during their drills that of all the backs, Shaud had the best acceleration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted July 30, 2005 Author Share Posted July 30, 2005 Great report, tgreg. Thanks. About all you can tell from a first practice is that you can't tell anything about a first practice. I would assume that the D will light up the O on most practices, and without any insider info, I would bet anything that one of the strategies in camp will be to throw everything the D can offer against JP to see how he reacts. 394113[/snapback] Yeah, I have that sense too. Our vantage point during the 11 on 11s was poor but it seemed to me they were practicing what happens when the protection breaks down, allowing JP to scramble and hit people outside of the pocket (or at least I hope that is what they were doing since there were three plays where every single defender broke through the line as if it were a screen...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SACTOBILLSFAN Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 I hope shaud is the no. 2 RB going into the opener especially if he bulked up a bit. i really enjoyed watching him last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Yes, I noticed it right away. He looks a lot bigger now (at least in the upper body). As you can see from the pics, we were real close to the RBs during their individual drills (less than 10 feet). I don't think Shaud has slowed at all. In fact, I pointed out to my brother during their drills that of all the backs, Shaud had the best acceleration. 394114[/snapback] My feeling is that unless ReShard Lee really explodes and excels in practice and pre-season, that if Willis needs a breather, or twists an ankle Shaud Williams will go in. If willis goes down and cannot play, that ReShard Lee will be the replacement, and Shaud Williams will fill the same role that he did with Willis, except perhaps coming in a little more often in place of Lee. And that Gates will be on the PS and could eventually replace either of the two ahead of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted July 30, 2005 Author Share Posted July 30, 2005 My feeling is that unless ReShard Lee really explodes and excels in practice and pre-season, that if Willis needs a breather, or twists an ankle Shaud Williams will go in. If willis goes down and cannot play, that ReShard Lee will be the replacement, and Shaud Williams will fill the same role that he did with Willis, except perhaps coming in a little more often in place of Lee. And that Gates will be on the PS and could eventually replace either of the two ahead of him. 394119[/snapback] I would agree with that assessment. I think this training camp battle will be just as good (if not better) than Reed vs Parish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Great report, thanks. Well, early returns say Preston should be starting at center and Teague should move out to LT. Oy. But it was just the first day. Just to clarify, did the backup OL get time against the 1st string defense? If so, Preston could be starting sooner rather than later, which would be great to see, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsGuyInMalta Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Its good to hear we got some competition going on at WR and RB. And hey JP struggling might be a blessing...if he came out looking fantastic in practice, the RJ comparisons would come rollin' in today. I'm especially glad to hear that our interior D-Line looked just as good as it did last year. I've been saying for the last few months that there wont be a noticeable drop-off with Pat Williams gone...I think Ron Edwards is going to really explode this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Thanks, that was awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted July 30, 2005 Author Share Posted July 30, 2005 Just to clarify, did the backup OL get time against the 1st string defense? If so, Preston could be starting sooner rather than later, which would be great to see, IMHO. 394122[/snapback] Not that I saw. They were rotating units. I never saw Preston take on Adams or Edwards...but he did go one on one with Anderson and held his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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